


Hell

by jynx



Category: Avengers (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Civil War, Grief, M/M, steve and tony are dorks, utter lord of the rings fans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-04
Updated: 2013-12-04
Packaged: 2018-01-03 10:30:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1069414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jynx/pseuds/jynx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you're going through hell, keep going.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hell

**Author's Note:**

> My thoughts on Tony finding out about Steve being gunned down

Tony Stark, Iron Man, newly appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was rooted to the spot. He had been tapped in via Extremis, preparing to go to Steve's trial when every single news feed he had hook in exploded.

There was nothing but footage on the disaster on the Courthouse steps. It took Tony a little while to realize what was going on, but then one camera focused in on a downed body with Sharon leaning over him and Sam kneeling next to him.

Steve had been shot. The reports were already coming in that it was fatal, that it was an assassination plot, that it was Tony Stark's Plan. Tony couldn't have moved if the Mandarin was standing in front of him and was about to blast him with one of his damned rings. The news feeds were detailing every second of this, from the first shot fired (to the next four ensuing shots), to the ambulance arriving, to the hospital pronouncing Steve D.O.A.

The armor was the only thing holding him up.

Dugan was shaking him, trying to get his attention, worried, saying something, but all Tony could do was stare at the feeds.

“This wasn't supposed to happen,” Tony whispered, not even realizing he was saying it out loud. “T-this wasn't...how could...”

“Director!” Dugan snarled, shaking him with both hands, trying to get him to respond to something, anything. “Stark! Dammit, snap out of it! Rogers is--”

“This...he...no,” Tony said, voice breaking, though the armor's filters kept his voice steady. “It's not real, it...it can't be real.”

Dugan realized how futile it was to get his attention and left, though Tony hardly noticed. The feeds were replaying the scene, over and over, and Tony was helpless to stop from watching every single second of it. If he was honest, he was trying to find the point where Steve had been replaced with an LMD, that it wasn't him, that it was a Skrull, something, anything but what it actually was. 

Someone punched him, in the armor, sent him flying into the nearest wall. Startled, his looked around and saw Carol, tears falling down her face as she looked at him. 

“N-no,” he said. “It's not real.”

“Take off the armor, Tony,” Carol said, crying. “We need you to not be in the armor right now.”

He didn't even realize he'd dismissed the armor until it was sitting in an obedient pile next to him. It was seconds before Carol was on the floor next to him, hugging him (or clinging, Tony wasn't sure) and crying on him. Tony hugged her back, too stunned to cry, too numb.

“It...no, he's okay,” Tony whispered, holding her as she cried. “Steve can't die. He...he can't.”

Carol just cried harder. Tony didn't know what to do or say, his mind whirling. It was fixed on the last time he and Steve had been alone, had been friends...

~

“You sure you can afford to play hooky?” Steve asked with a grin, handing Tony a soda.

Tony made a face, “The Board can go to hell. All they'll do is bitch at me, demand I fire Iron Man and get rid of the Avengers, pick up military contracts, same old same old.”

Steve chuckled and sat next to him, “So instead you're here, waving tickets to something in my face.”

“I told you what they were!” Tony huffed, taking a sip of the soda.

“Yeah, at the same time you were kissing me,” Steve teased.

Tony rolled his eyes and dug the tickets out of his pocket to hand them over to Steve with a smug look on his face. Steve just stared at them, and then stared at Tony.

“You're mad,” he said, stunned.

“Am not,” Tony said, mock offended. “I just thought you'd get a kick out of it.”

“Tony, it adds up to how many hours?” Steve asked, stunned. 

“Uhm... Well, let's see. Fellowship of the Ring was three and a half hours, The Two Towers was almost four, and Return of the King was a little over four hours. It's twelve hours, give or take,” Tony said, smug.

Steve stared at him, “You are out of your mind if you think we could get away for twelve hours.”

“I'm sure we can just tell the team we're gonna be missing for twelve hours, deal with any crisis as they see fit,” Tony said, sipping his soda and hiding his grin. He had to congratulate himself; there was an old theatre that had announced on one website that they were going to be doing the entire Lord of the Rings extended editions on next Sunday. Tony had snapped up two, certain he could drag Steve into it with him.

Steve arched a brow at him, sipping his own soda, “Right, and were you hoping they wouldn't put two and two together? I thought we were keeping this to ourselves?”

Tony set his soda aside before straddling Steve's lap and pulling him into a hungry, teasing kiss. “We are,” Tony said. “Where does it say two friends can't be complete geeks and spend twelve hours in an old theatre with one of the greatest movies of all time?”

Steve gave Tony an amused grin, settling his hands on his hips, “Nowhere, but there are going to be some who pick up on it.”

“Let them,” Tony said, kissing him again. “I. Don't. Care.”

Steve chuckled and kissed him back, hands sliding down to grip Tony's ass, “So, how long can you play hooky?”

Tony gave Steve a grin so smug, it had to be defined as something else entirely, “All. Day. Long.”

~

Those tickets had never been used. Three days after that, the Stamford Incident happened, and then the War. Now, there would be no more easy teasing, no more movie trips, no more secret meetings where Steve would hold him and kiss him...it was all gone now.

Tony let his head fall back, tears slowly falling down his face. “If you're going through hell,” he quoted, “keep going.”


End file.
